Hasp fittings



Nov. 15, 1960 c. w. CHENEY HASP FITTINGS Filed March 18, 1958 Arr-731 United St tes Patent HASP FITTINGS Charles William Cheney, Factory Road, Hockley, Birmingham 19, Warwickshire, England; Francis M. Tomkinson, Howard W. Cheney, and Gordon M. fiherwood, executors of said Charles William Cheney,

eceased Filed Mar. 18, 1958, Ser. No. 722,311

Claims priority, application Great Britain Mar. 22, 1957 2 Claims. (Cl. 292281) This invention relates to hasps for travel cases and like boxes comprising a body part and a lid part which may have a predetermined capacity, said hasp being of that kind comprising an attachment plate and a spring loaded hasp member hinged thereto so that the hasp member can be moved against the action of a coiled torsion type spring away from the attachment plate, and can also swing under the action of its spring close to the attachment plate, these positions being respectively the fastened position of the hasp member with respect to a cooperative lock member and the release position of the hasp member. In the said release position, the hasp member swings on its hinge pin through approximately 180 and is aptly known in the trade as a fully fly-ofi hasp.

In the assembly of the hasp member to the attachment plate, a problem has long been experienced in providing and maintaining sufficient stress in the torsion spring to ensure that in practical use the hasp will attain the fully fiy-olf positions. In order to achieve this, it has always been necessary to tension the spring, and then set and trim it, after the hasp member has been assembled to the attachment plate. These operations of the tensioning, setting and trimming the spring, are special techniques of the assembler and add considerably to the productive costs of the hasp. Apart from this, the said operations exercise a control on the output of the article.

The primary object of the present invention is to pro vide a spring loaded hasp of the kind referred to, in which the said difficult operations of tensioning and setting and trimming the spring are avoided in a very simple and inexpensive manner and, consequently, the productive costs of the article are considerably reduced. Further objects are to avoid problems which are later set out.

According to the present invention a hasp comprises a sheet metal attachment plate and a spring-loaded sheet metal hasp member hinged to said plate by a hinge pin, said hasp member being capable of swinging through approximately 180 with respect to a cooperative lock member into the fastening and release positions, said attachment plate having a centrally gapped, convex, front wall forming spaced recesses at the back thereof, and parallel side lugs united with said front wall and having coaxial end bearings for the said hinge pin, said hasp member including a central knuckle of a box construction including coaxially spaced hearings in the ends of said knuckle, said knuckle interfitting with said gap in said attachment plate with said bearings aligned with said end bearings and engaged by the said hinge pin, whereby four bearing points are provided for said pin, and a pre-set coil torsion spring encircling said pin and housed in one of said recesses, said spring having tails extending in the same direction and engaging respectively the back of said attachment plate and the back of the hasp member.

Preferably the bearings of the knuckle are constructed by pierced end flaps formed integral with the said knuckle and one of said flaps is provided with a recess adjoining ice the back of the hasp member to accommodate a tail of said spring.

According to one form of construction of the invention as applied to a sheet metal hasp, the attachment plate is formed with a rearward, boundary flange which at the axis of hinging provides opposite pierced side lugs for the hinge pin. Said plate is formed inwardly and coaxially of said lugs with spaced, part spherical recesses. The space between the recesses is arranged to accommodate an integral knuckle formed at a middle position of the hasp member, the ends of the knuckle havinlg inwardly folded flaps which are pierced to provide two spaced coaxial bearings for the hinge pin. vThus, the hinge pin is supported throughout its lengthat four spaced bearing points and provides an effective hinge between the plate and the hasp member as will resist such twisting stresses as may be imposed on the hasp.

The tails of the coiled torsion spring extend in the same direction, so that when the hasp is brought into its fly-off, co-related position to attachment plate, it is but an easy matter to slip the attachment plate under one tail of the spring, align the axes, and then insert the hinge pin.

The said recesses provide alike part spherical projections on the exterior of the attachment plate which are matched by the knuckle on the hasp member.

For a better understanding of the invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a form of construction of hasp according to the invention wherein:

Figure l is a perspective View illustrating the hasp, in the .fully fly-off position of release, fastened to the lid of a travel case.

Figure 2 is an exploded view illustrating the separate parts of the hasp of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating the relative positions for assembly of the hasp member, the attachment plate, the spring and the hinge pin. I

Figure 4 is a vertical section of Figure 1 taken on the dotted line AA. 1

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section, to a larger scale, taken on the dotted line BB Figure 1.

As will be observed in the drawing, the hasp comprises a dished sheet metal attachment plate 6 secured to the lid 7 of a travel case 8 and a sheet metal hasp member 9, loaded by a coiled torsion spring 10, which is hinged to the attachment plate 6 by a hinge pin 11. The hasp is of that type in which the hasp member 9 is capable of swinging through approximately as indicated by the arrow (Figure 1) relative to the attachment plate 6 as seen in the dotted line position; consequently, the hasp is aptly known in the trade as fully fly-off in relation to a lock member, indicated at 12, fastened to the body of the travel case 8.

Such hasps (together with lock members) are manufactured by mass production methods and are assembled by unskilled labour. The public requirements in world markets amount to millions annually, and it is essential that the articles are manufactured at keen prices in order not to disturb economic conditions prevailing in these markets. Presently, with the high cost of labour, the tendency is to concentrate upon technical advancement in productive capacity to compensate for that high cost.

In addition to the problem above referred to, a further problem arose in that one end of the hinge pin 11 had to be machined down to a smaller diameter to receive the bore of the spring 10, because in the fastened position when the spring is fully stressed, its convolutions become contracted and would otherwise bind on the hinge pin. This problem again called for additional labour cost. A still further problem arose in that when the hasp member and attachment plate are hinged to- .lugs 13. having coaxial holes 14 for the hinge pin 11, and

with a convex front wall 15, having a gap 16 at a middle position. The hasp member 9 has a central, annular knuckle 17 which is received in the gap 16, and parallel end flaps 18 having coaxial holes 19 for the hinge pin 11; the knuckle 17, and the end flaps 18 conjointly form an annular box structure providing two coaxially spaced bearings 19 for the hinge pin 11 which together with the coaxial holes 14 in the side lugs 13 provide four bearing pointsfor the hinge pin 11. One of the flaps 18 is formed with a recess 23, to accommodate a tail of the spring 10.

The coiled torsion spring is a pre-set unit and has two tails 20 and 21 extending in a common direction (Figures 2 and 3). The spring 10 is placed in a recess 22 formed in the back of the convex front Wall with the tail resting against the back of the plate 6 and the tail 21 extending over the front of said plate 6 (Figure 3). Then the hasp member 9, as in the fly-off position, is brought to the attachment plate 6 and the tail 21 is engaged with the inside of the hasp member 9, the tail 21 fitting snugly in the recess 23. The hasp member 9 is now turned relatively to the attachment plate 6 so as to bring the knuckles 17 and 18 coaxial with the side lugs 13 and finally the hinge pin 11 is inserted through one hole '14, the spring 10, the coaxial holes 19 and through the other hole 14 and made secure.

It Will be readily appreciated to those skilled in the art that the provision of the pre-set torsion spring 10 marks a great advantage in the manufacture of the hasp and, moreover, the provision of the annular knuckle 17 with hearing holes 19 for the hinge pin in its end flaps 18 in conjunction with the bearing holes 14 in the lugs 13 of the attachment plate provide four longitudinally spaced bearing points for the hinge pin 11, thus overcoming all the problems hereinbefore referred to in a specialised manufacture.

What I claim is:

1. A hasp comprising a sheet metal attachment plate and a sheet metal hasp member hinged to said plate by a hinge pin, said hasp member being capable of swinging through approximately 180 with respect to a cooperative lock member into the fastening and release positions,

said attachment plate having a convex, front wall in which there is provided a central gap, said Wall forming spaced recesses at the back thereof, and parallel side lugs united with said front wall and having coaxial end bearings for the said hinge pin, said hasp member including a central, annular knuckle having an annular box construction including coaxially spaced hearings in opposite ends of the box construction, said annular knuckle interfitting with said gap in said front Wall with said bearings aligned with said end bearings and engaged by the said hinge pin, at four bearing points, and a pre-set coil torsion spring encircling said pin and housed in one of said recesses, said spring having tails extending in the same direction and engaging respectively the back of said attachment plate and the back of the hasp member.

2. A hasp comprising a sheet metal attachment plate and a sheet metal hasp member hinged to said plate by a hinge pin, said hasp member being capable of swinging through approximately with respect to a cooperative lock member into the fastening and release positions, said attachment plate having a centrally gapped, convex, front wall in which there is provided a central gap, said wall forming spaced recesses at the back thereof, and parallel side lugs united with said front Wall and having coaxial end bearings for the said hinge pin, said hasp member including a central, annular knuckle having an annular box construction including coaxially spaced bearings in opposite ends of the box construction, said annular bearings being constructed by pierced end flaps formed integral With said knuckle, one of said end flaps having a recess adjoining the back of said hasp member, said knuckle interfitting with said gap in said attachment plate with said bearings aligned with said end bearings and engaged by the said hinge pin, whereby four bearing points are provided for said pin, and a preset coil torsion spring encircling said pin and housed in one of said recesses, said spring having tails extending in the same direction and engaging respectively the back of said attachment plate, and the said recess adjoining the back of said hasp member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,648,249 Winters et a1 Nov. 8, 1927 1,892,289 Stone Dec. 27, 1932 2,497,266 Levane Feb. 14, 1950 2,819,603 Levine Ian. 14, 1958 

